Once the purchase order for software products has been approved by Finance, IT, and Procurement, many KM project sponsors and team members breathe a sigh of relief. Most incorrectly assume that getting the software up and running will be a simple process—maybe even as simple as downloading an app on their smartphone.

What most non-IT staff don’t see or appreciate is the tremendous amount of work needed to correctly install, configure, and customize a new software product into their existing computing environment. If the software is not implemented correctly, it can introduce chaos to a complicated project plan, use up budgets for rework, and cause animosity between the project team, end users, and IT. If installation and configuration problems persist into testing or go undetected into production rollout, then poor-performing applications can jeopardize the project’s expected return on investment and create long-term harm to the reputations of all parties involved.